Big Happy Family
by Jenna Cassie Herdz
Summary: Riddick, Deirdra, Fisher and Faith have crashed on a mysterious planet with creatures from sky to water that want to kill all of them. After escaping to a far better part of the planet where they can live, a storm starts brewing that will bring trouble. When the mercs arrive and take Faith hostage, the three are forced to improvise to rescue her and escape themselves.
1. No Name World

_**Chapter 1: No Name World**_

"This is bad!"

"No shit, Girl!"

Riddick tried to steady the violently shaking skiff as Deirdra sat in the co-pilot's seat, holding onto the edge of the panel. Faith screamed when the ship thrashed to one side as she and Fisher sat strapped into the passenger seats against the wall.

"This'll be the _second_ time we crash on Furya!" Deirdra snapped.

"This ain't Furya!" Riddick shot back, making her snap a wide-eyed stare of disbelief at him before the ship jerked violently, skipping off a of the top of a mountain on the planet they were crashing onto.

Deirdra screamed this time when she looked out the windscreen at the incoming rocky desert before they bounced off another mountain top and onto a plateau.

"Get out!" Riddick shouted, unstrapping himself and Deirdra did the same, slamming her hand down on a button on the panel before racing after Riddick toward the back of the ship.

Fisher unstrapped himself and Faith before grabbing her hand and racing after Riddick and Deirdra as the gangplank opened to let them out. They all jumped out just as the ship reached the cliff and toppled over, but their feet didn't quite reach solid ground. Riddick, Deirdra and Fisher were fast enough to catch the ledge, all three hanging on for their lives as Faith screamed in terror, dangling by her arm as Fisher still held her hand and she watched the ship crash and become rubble below them.

"Faith!" Fisher shouted, his voice echoing through the air and she shot her gaze up at him. "Stop moving and don't look down!"

Deirdra was suddenly next to Fisher, leaning over with a hand out toward Faith, having scrambled up to the surface. Fisher struggled to pull Faith up high enough to reach Deirdra's hand, but just as he thought he'd lose grip of Faith's hand, Riddick's hand grabbed Faith's other wrist and helped Fisher pull her up to reach Deirdra's. She grasped Faith's hand and hauled her up, Riddick and Fisher shoving her up by a leg each until she was safely on solid ground with Deirdra.

"Get back!" Riddick shouted, making the girls frown in wonder but when Deirdra caught the crack in the weak ledge the men were dangling from, she shoved Faith back before attempting to reach for Riddick and Fisher…but she was too late.

Deirdra came to a skidding stop, almost toppling over the cliff when the ledge cracked and she watched in horror as Riddick and Fisher fell toward the rubble of the ship. Faith scrambled toward the edge and screamed when she saw them disappear in the thick dust then looked to Deirdra with tears instantly springing to her blue eyes, the red-head staring down at the dust and rubble in disbelief.

"W-What do we do?" Faith breathed.

Deirdra shook her head and backed away from the edge, stumbling and falling back onto her rear as she stared ahead, still in shock. Faith shuffled toward her and sat next to her, pulling her knees up to sob into them as Deirdra replayed everything that had happened in her mind.

It had all happened so fast. One minute, they were trying to figure out if this planet was Furya, and the next, their thrusters were taken out by passing asteroids, sending them crashing into it.

And now…this. The two men she loved more than anything in the universe had just fallen to their deaths in front of her eyes, leaving her and Faith – a girl she thought of as a daughter, as she'd thought of Fisher as a son – alone on this No Name world.

"No," Deirdra breathed, making Faith look up at her with a frown as she sniffled, lifting a hand to wipe her tears away.

"What?" Faith sniffled as Deirdra only continued staring ahead and Faith watched her in wonder when she finally stood and stared down at the drop, shaking her head.

"No," Deirdra growled, clenching her fists before screaming, " _No_!"

"Deirdra! Wait!" Faith called when Deirdra shot off toward the direction she thought she could climb down the cliff.

Faith ran after Deirdra, catching up with her as she reached what seemed like a way down the cliff-face. Faith couldn't keep up with Deirdra, even as they climbed down a nature-made trail down the cliff toward the wreckage. The girls said nothing to each other as they both climbed down, Deirdra nearly slipping a few times in her haste to get there. Once they finally reached the bottom, Deirdra stumbled over the rocks to make her way toward a spot where she could see the entire wreckage, trying to look for Riddick and Fisher.

"Deirdra!" Faith cried, watching the red-head start to toss rocks around, trying to find them. Faith gave a sob before calling, "Please, stop! They're gone!"

"Shut up!" Deirdra screamed, still tossing the rocks around. "Riddick's been buried before! I was there! He survived that, and he'll survive _this_! Him and Fisher! Now get your ass over here and _help me_!"

Deirdra tossed once last rock aside before gasping when a hand suddenly clamped down on her wrist.

"Riddick!" Deirdra called, a grin brightening her face as she began pushing more rocks away, his hand still on her wrist. Faith stared on in disbelief before racing toward the spot where Deirdra was digging to help her. "Riddick! We're here! Hang on!"

The girls continued digging as his hand still remained on Deirdra's wrist and once they dug most of him out, they noticed his other arm wrapped around Fisher. Faith grabbed onto Fisher's arm to drag him out of the rubble as Deirdra pulled on Riddick's arm and he shoved himself out, growling in pain. They were both covered in cuts and scrapes and blood, Riddick had a significant gash down the left side of his face, and Fisher was unconscious.

"Fisher!" Faith called, shaking his shoulders as he lay across her lap. "Fisher, wake up!"

"Shit!" Riddick growled in pain as he sat above the rocks, yanking his left leg from the rocks…to reveal a compound fracture in his shin.

"Damn, that's bad," Deirdra breathed as Riddick hung his arm around her neck to stay sitting upright, Faith still trying to rouse Fisher. Deirdra lifted a hand to wipe the blood from his head, but he slapped her hand away as Faith tried lightly slapping Fisher's cheeks to wake him.

"Wake the Kid up," Riddick ordered Deirdra, lowering his arm from around her neck to let her make her way to the younger couple, but she didn't move.

"If Faith can't wake him, I won't be able to," she insisted.

They both jumped when they heard a hard slap and looked to the teens just in time to see Fisher jump and sit up, quickly. Faith wasted no time in throwing her arms around Fisher and sobbing into his shoulder, making him wince at the pain coursing through his body…namely his left arm.

"Babe – ow!" Fisher blurted, making her gasp and pull back to stare at him as he cradled his arm. "Dislocated."

"I'll fix it," Deirdra offered, standing to swap positions with Faith and met Fisher's gaze. "On three, ok?"

He nodded, taking in a deep breath then letting it out as Deirdra took his arm into her hands, preparing to pop it back into place.

"Three."

She shoved his shoulder back into its socket, making him shout in agony and tense before he slumped forward and leaned on Deirdra, catching his breath. Some screeching from above, made them all look to the sky to see ugly, winged creatures circling above, looking for anything to scavenge.

"We need to find cover," Deirdra advised pulling off her jacket to make in ersatz sling for Fisher's arm.

"We need to find water," Riddick countered, looking ahead to the horizon of rough terrain and rocks. "We'll head that way."

"You can't walk on that leg," Faith objected, looking to him in shock.

"No choice, Blondie," Riddick retorted, attempting to stand without Faith's help, but he fell right back down with a growl of pain.

"You've gotta get that set right, Riddick," Deirdra suggested.

"No shit," Riddick muttered.

"Don't start with me, Big Ugly," Deirdra snapped, standing to step toward him. "I just pulled you out of your grave. The _least_ you can do is be grateful. Oh, screw that. Look who I'm talking to."

"Maybe Faith and I should go scout for water," Fisher suggested as Deirdra sat down in front of Riddick's broken leg.

"We should stay together," Faith countered. "Who knows what's out there? We've only seen the birds."

"Blondie's got a point," Riddick commented then growled in pain when Deirdra grabbed his foot to lift it and snapped the bone back into place, making him shout in even more pain.

"We need to make a splint," Deirdra thought aloud, looking around the wreckage.

She rummaged through the rocks and wreckage around them, finding two, semi-flat pieces of metal and two long screws. She was thankful they were intact as she made her way back toward Riddick, holding up her supplies and meeting his gaze.

"This is gonna hurt like hell," she warned.

"Whatever, just do it," Riddick shot back, preparing himself for the pain as she waved Faith to her, Fisher sitting next to Riddick. "Kid, get out of arm's reach, unless you want that arm dislocated again."

"Faith, hold this right here," Deirdra ordered, positioning one of the pieces of metal on one side of Riddick's leg.

After some struggling and groaning in pain from Riddick, Faith was holding the piece of metal against his leg and Deirdra was aiming one of the screws through a hole near his knee. Riddick growled in pain as Deirdra shoved the screw through the hole and into his leg, holding the splint in place before she did the same thing at the bottom with another screw. The process was repeated with the second piece of metal and the other two screws, and Deirdra quickly shooed Faith away so that she could duck under Riddick's arm to let him use her for a crutch as he stood.

"We need to get moving," Deirdra told the teens as Faith stepped toward Fisher to help him up as well.

"Where are we going?" Fisher wondered as he and Faith followed Riddick and Deirdra away from the wreckage.

"Looking for water," Riddick replied, limping next to the Deirdra as she supported him on her shoulders.

"But if we keep moving, those things up there won't attack," she added.

"You hope," he shot back.

"Don't scare the kids," she retorted.

They were silent for some time as they focused on their search for water, and soon they came across a pool, making their pace quicken toward it. Fisher was the first to race past Riddick and Deirdra, toward the pool and fall to his knees at the edge, dipping his hand in to take a drink, but he stopped short as Faith came up next to him to do the same.

"Wait!" Fisher ordered her, making her stop and look to him in wide-eyed confusion as Riddick and Deirdra stepped up to watch him. "The water isn't right…"

Riddick knelt down to one knee and scooped up some water as well to smell it.

"Shit!" he snarled, slapping the water before sitting fully and sighing in agitation. "Great. Foul water, no food in sight in this desert…we're screwed."

"Love that optimism, Big Ugly," Deirdra sighed.

They all froze when a howl caught their attentions, making them turn in the direction they heard it come from to see several lean, long-legged canines with huge ears and long, thin tails. The four stared at the dogs for what seemed like ages before the animals came racing toward them.

"Gotta hide," Deirdra blurted.

"Get in the water," Riddick ordered. "All of you. Now!"

"Wait! I can't swim!" Faith cried as Fisher grabbed her arm and began pulling her toward the pool, Riddick and Deirdra shuffling in as well.

"You don't have to swim, just hold your breath," Fisher assured her as they all splashed in and he grabbed her waist to pull her close. "I've got you, babe. Deep breath."

Faith did as she was told just as Fisher took in a breath as well and they both ducked under the surface, just as Riddick and Deirdra sank down as well. The four stared up at the surface just as the dogs gathered around the pool, looking for the four of them. They were frozen for a moment longer before Deirdra spotted something out of the corner of her eye. An eel glided past her, making her eyes widen before she looked to Faith, hoping the teen didn't see it…but it was too late. The blonde's blue eyes shot wide when she saw the thing swim past her and she began thrashing in panic to get away from it, but more eels emerged, surrounding the four.

Fisher planted his hand over her mouth and nose to keep her from making any bubbles, and held her even closer with his other arm. She turned her gaze to him in panic but he only shook his head, reassuringly, and she shut her eyes tightly before hugging him close. Riddick and Deirdra swatted eels away as he kept his gaze on the surface, watching the dogs at the edge of the pool until they disappeared. Riddick surfaced first, making sure the dogs had gone before climbing out completely, followed by Deirdra, Fisher and Faith.

"We're still screwed," Riddick muttered as Deirdra climbed out to sit next to him and Fisher pushed Faith up onto the edge as she gasped and coughed for air.

"Downer," Deirdra muttered.

"Guys…" Fisher called in warning, making the other three turn to him…before they saw what was behind him.

The dog growled at them from the other side of the pool before leaping toward them, making all four scatter. Deirdra grabbed Faith's hand and yanked her to cover as Riddick backed away against the nearby rock and Fisher raced after Faith and Deirdra. The dog ran after the girls, but Fisher put himself between them as Riddick ignored the pain in his leg and joined him, both kicking at the dog to keep it at bay.

It leapt up toward Riddick, sending them both to the ground before he raised his arm to let it clamp down with its sharp teeth, making him growl in pain. Fisher grabbed a club-shaped bone and started hitting the dogs head with it to get him to let Riddick go. Fisher swiped the dog's head sideways, making it yowl and release Riddick's arm before it stumbled back and away from them, shaking the rattling from its head before growling at them again.

Fisher stepped ahead of them all, waving the bone in front of the dog when it growled at them and looked ready to attack again. The dog still growled but stopped and watched the bone when Fisher threw it with all his strength in a random direction. The dog looked back at Fisher before turning and running after the bone, making the four all sigh in relief. Riddick leaned back on his elbow as Deirdra knelt next to him to look over the wound on his arm as Faith threw her arms around Fisher when he turned to her.

"Good one, Kid," Riddick groaned when Deirdra used her sleeve to wipe the blood away. "We need to find drinkable water."

"If those dogs can survive out here, then it's gotta be here somewhere," Deirdra added, looking around the area to keep a lookout for more animals.

"We gotta get moving," Fisher advised, looking up at the circling winged reptiles.

"Toward that cliff," Riddick directed as Deirdra helped him to his feet again, but this time he didn't lean on her while Fisher kept his arm around Faith. "I think I see some water over there."

"How can you tell?" Deirdra frowned in wonder, stepping next to him. "Isn't it too bright for you? Where are your goggles?"

"Where do you think?" he shot back, nodding back toward the place he and Fisher had nearly been buried alive.

She glared at him as they all continued on before touching the matching goggles she had hanging from her neck. She pulled them off and handed them to him, making him frown down at her as they came to a stop. He stared at her with his glowing eyes before taking the goggles and pulled them on over his eyes then continued onward, Deirdra right behind him as Fisher and Faith only stepped a few feet ahead of them.

They all continued toward the cliff until they came to the bottom where there was an open sort of cavern, a huge puddle of watery mud at the base where the water was falling. Clean, fresh and cool. They rushed toward the water falling from the edge of the cliff to drink, Riddick first before he turned to be the lookout. Deirdra looked to him and took his wounded arm gently by the wrist and into the water, making him flinch before he turned to look at her.

"This needs to be cleaned," she told him, washing the wound out before wetting her sleeve and wiping the blood from his face around the gash on his head.

"Still acting like my own personal nurse, huh, Girl?" he smirked in a low tone, making her smirk back at him.

"You know it, Big Ugly," she smirked back.

Faith did the same for Fisher, cleaning away the blood from his cuts and scrapes as he smiled down at her.

"Sorry I scared you back there," he murmured, making her look up to meet his gaze as he smiled back at her, to which she blushed before continuing to wipe away the blood. "I'm glad you were able to get back from the edge. I…" Faith frowned up at him in wonder when he trailed off before he looked away from her, then continued, "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you, Faith."

"Hey! Lovebirds! Get outta sight!" Riddick growled as he and Deirdra huddled in an alcove, sending Fisher into action and making him grab Faith to do the same in another alcove just as the dogs that had been following them came into view of the pools surrounding them.

They all waited in the shadows as the dogs approached, curious at one of the puddles, making the other four watch it as well. A slithering thing slowly rose from the muddy water. It looked like it could have been a face, but they could all tell it was more tail-like than head-like. It's swaying seemed to hypnotize the dog watching it as two more came slithering up as well.

The center tail suddenly disappeared and the body of the thing lunged from the muddy water to sink its teeth into the dog's rump as it tried to escape. The dog twitched as it lay on the ground at the edge of the pool before its attacker dragged it into the water when it stopped moving. Its companions fled, afraid to be taken as well as they saw it dragged into the pool.

Faith panted in panic as she took a small step back. The sound of soft clacking as her foot touched something caught her attention, making her frown in confusion before she looked down at what she'd knocked her foot into. The long skull of one of the dogs made her eyes widen before she caught movement from the huge pool of water around them…and saw the huge tail of one of the serpent like creatures they'd just seen a smaller version of.

"F-Fisher," Faith breathed, not taking her eyes off the thing and making him turn to her with a frown before he caught sight of the thing that had her paralyzed with fear.

"Riddick!" he shouted before the thing lunged forward.

Fisher shoved Faith out of the way just as the end of the tail hit the ground at his feet, knocking him back as it flipped out of the water to hover its huge jaws over him. Riddick quickly grabbed a huge, straight bone and used it to whack the thing in the jaw and send it back into the water with one swift blow. Faith and Deirdra both scrambled toward Fisher to help him up as Riddick watched the water to see if it would come back for another attack.

"Whole damn planet wants a piece of us," Riddick snapped, tossing the bone aside and lifting an arm toward Deirdra who hurried to duck under it, helping him limp away as Fisher gripped Faith's hand to lead her away as well, both following Riddick and Deirdra.

"We can't stay in the open," Deirdra murmured. "We can't risk another attack with the two of you injured."

"Is that a cave up there?" Fisher called, gesturing toward the distance ahead, and they all looked up to see what looked like an abandoned building of some kind made of tall rocks. "Looks like a good place for shelter."

"Let's have a look," Deirdra suggested, and Riddick only nodded in agreement as they made their way forward.

Once inside they noticed a huge slab of stone erected in the center of the room and surrounded by holes dug into the ground. The room stretched toward their right to an identical scene as they stepped further in.

"You and Blondie in that one," Riddick ordered Fisher, pointing to the farthest hole from him. "Shove that slab over it for cover."

"I'm a bit one handed, here," Fisher retorted, waving his only good arm.

"Figure something out, Kid," Riddick shot back.

"Riddick—"

"It's alright, Dee," Fisher cut into Deirdra's scolding. "I'll have to be able to take care of myself and Faith, even when I'm injured. I'll figure something out."

"But—"

"He's gotta learn, Girl," Riddick cut in this time, making the red-head turn a glare to him, her dark eyes meeting his silver ones and he groaned when he saw the look in them. She was silently telling they were going to have words later, making him growl, irritably, "Get in the hole!"

"Don't yell at her!" Faith cried, making everyone's attention turn to her in shock at the outburst. "We're stranded on a desert planet where every single thing wants to kill us for lunch and you're _yelling_ at her! Stop it!"

"Babe, it's ok," Fisher murmured to her, wrapping his good arm around her shoulders as she bowed her face into her hands. "That's how they talk to each other. You know that. Come on, sweetheart. Don't cry."

Riddick sneered before stepping toward the monolith and began pushing against it with all his might, the other three watching him in wonder as he used his anger to shove the thing over the hole. It broke in half as it fell, a few more chunks coming off as it hit the stone floor, leaving a gap in the halves to allow them to climb into the hole. Fisher looked to the other huge slab standing next to them and decided to follow Riddick's lead. He made his way toward the slab as Riddick only began lowering himself into the hole, Deirdra watching the two teens.

"Fisher, what are you doing?" Faith asked as she watched him lean his good arm against the slab and start shoving. "You'll heart yourself! Stop it!"

"Get back!" Deirdra called to Faith as she grabbed her arm to pull her back when she attempted to help Fisher.

Deirdra pulled Faith back just in time to keep her from being hurt as the slab fell forward as it had when Riddick had done the same with the first slab. Fisher lost his balance and tripped forward onto the lower half of the slab falling onto his good arm with a grunt, making Faith rush forward to help him as Deirdra released her.

"Fisher, are you alright?!" she shuddered, trying to help him up and he groaned as he sat up, looking to her with a small smile.

"Don't worry about me, babe," he assured her in a pained groan before shuffling to sit up and scoot toward the gap left by the broken slab. "Let's just get in the hole so nothing else attacks us, yeah?"

"Riddick—"

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up," Riddick grumbled before ducking into the hole.

Deirdra rushed toward the slab as Faith helped Fisher into the hole and the girls nodded to each other in understanding. Faith climbed in with Fisher as Deirdra sat herself at the end of the slab and pressed her feet to the end of the slab to shove it forward and connect with the other half, closing the gap over them. She strained under the weight, but didn't stop until the two halves were connected securely, and then sighed in exhaustion when she could finally relax before standing to scramble toward the hole where Riddick was now peeking out at her.

"What?" she frowned as she stood next to the hole, and he only smirked back. She knew that smirk.

"Get in the hoe and I'll show you 'what,'" he retorted.

"You can't show me anything, you horny bastard. Not with that broken leg," she shot back, climbing into the hole with him and lying next to him.

They both reached up and pressed their hands to the stone slab above them before looking to each other.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she nodded.

They both used all their strength to lift the slab up and move it until it connected to the other half above them. Once it was secure they released, now covered in darkness that only Riddick could see through. He wrapped an arm around Deirdra and pulled her closer, ignoring the pain in his leg, but she shoved back on his chest.

"Don't make that leg any worse than it already is," she warned, making him sneer before he gave up and laid back.

"There are bad days, and then there are _legendary_ bad days," he muttered. "Guess which one this is?"

"The latter," Deirdra replied, without hesitation before sighing, "Crash landing on a desert planet only to find four different creatures, two of which have already tried to kill us, and now real food or even water for nourishment. Not even a ship to get off this damn world. Yup, I'd say that's an epically bad day."

"We'll find a way to survive," he assured her. " _All_ of us. But first, we gotta heal up and zero the clock."

"Zero the clock?" she frowned in wonder, knowing her could see her. "What do you mean?"

"I went and did the worst crime of all," he muttered. "I got civilized. And it's your fault. You tryin' to make me a father and 'good husband' and shit."

"Oh, of course it's my fault," she shot back. "So what's your plan, Mr. Civilized?"

Riddick took in a breath as he pulled her a little closer and murmured, "Gotta find that animal side again."


	2. Paradise

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2: Paradise**_

"Looks a lot better," Deirdra nodded, examining Riddick's leg as they both sat at the edge of the hole they'd been hiding in. "Some gnarly scars from the break and the makeshift splint. But what woman doesn't love scars?"

"You gave me half of 'em," Riddick muttered.

"Well, I had to make a splint for that broken leg, didn't I?" she shot back before shifting to examine Fisher's arm as he and Faith sat with them. "Your arm's healing up good, too. You'll both be ready for the hunt tomorrow morning."

"My first hunt?!" Fisher grinned before pumping his fists and calling, "Yes!"

"Ain't gonna be much of a hunt without weapons," Riddick retorted, pulling down his pant leg and looked out to the doorway of the temple they were in. "You and the kids stay here. I'll go out to the wreckage and dig up what I can find."

"And if you can't find any?" Faith wondered as they all watched him stand, but he kept his gaze outside.

"Then I'll make some," he replied, pulling his goggles over his eyes "I'll be back tonight. Stay outta sight…of _everything_."

"You should take one of us with you," Deirdra advised, standing as well.

"I suppose you mean _you_?" he guessed.

"Actually, I think you should take Fisher along," she replied, nodding to the teen, who grinned up at the two before she looked back to Riddick. "We spent two weeks in a hole together. I think we're both due for a break, don't you?"

"I promise I won't get in your way, Riddick!" Fisher insisted, scrambling to his feet and racing toward the two, but Deirdra noticed the worried glaze over Faith's eyes as she remained in her spot. "I'll follow your lead. You need someone to watch your back, right? With all those things out there – the dogs and bird…things – you'll need a spotter."

"And if I take the Kid with me, who's gonna protect you girls?" Riddick shot back at Deirdra, making her give him a bored stare.

"Have you met me yet?" she retorted before sticking her hand out for a mock handshake. "Hi, I'm the girl that pulled you out of the rubble back there, not to mention saved your ass more than once before that. I think we'll be able to take care of ourselves till you get back."

"Does Blondie agree with you?" Riddick shot back, nodding toward Faith, making the other three look to her fearful gaze she kept glued to Fisher. "Looks like she's ready to puke just think' about it."

"Babe, what's wrong?" Fisher asked, stepping back toward her, catching her when she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest and shuddering with quiet sobs. "Aw, don't cry. I'll be back before you can even miss me."

"I'm not worried about how _long_ you'll be gone, I'm worried about whether or not you'll come back at all!" Faith cried, gripping him a little tighter and making him sigh in hopelessness.

"I ain't waiting for this," Riddick snapped, irritably before turning to head out.

"Fine, then _I'll_ go with you," Deirdra sighed as Fisher still tried to calm Faith.

"Hell no," Riddick shot back, stopping to glare at her through his goggles. "Stay with them. I'll be back."

"Riddick—"

"Stay!" he barked, making her glare back at him, but he didn't wait for her to respond before he turned and marched into the landscape.

"Asshole," she snapped, glancing to Fisher and Faith as the blonde began to calm down, the young man still holding her close. "You two up for some exploration?"

"Wouldn't Riddick want us to stay here?" Fisher asked as Faith wiped her face and sniffled.

"We're just gonna have a look around this building," Deirdra assured him, looking around it. "It's pretty big. There might be a place that's a bit more closed off where we can camp out. We'll stick together."

"What about the animals around?" Faith wondered as Deirdra led them deeper into the building, Fisher still holding Faith as he followed the red-head.

"As long as we stay out of puddles and under this roof, we should be fine," Deirdra assured her, stopping as she noticed a corner that looked a bit like a cave.

Deirdra slowly made her way toward the corner as Fisher held onto Faith's hand. Deirdra took a good look at the corner and noticed how the structure was made.

"Whoever built this built it right from the cave walls," she murmured, lifting a hand to stroke the stone. "Clever. We could stay here a while. A good _long_ while, if we need to. And we'll need to."

Fisher ventured aside, Faith in tow, to have a look at another doorway as Deirdra examined the darkened space. The teens looked over the horizon and Faith swallowed anxiously before looking to their surroundings. Fisher looked to her with a frown of wonder as she turned back to him.

"Faith?" he called, gently as he turned to her completely. "What's wrong?"

"When the mercs took me from my home…I thought I would end up on a place like this," she replied, meekly. "Taken as a slave and stranded…in a place like this."

"Hey," he murmured, lifting his hands to cup her face and meet her gaze. "Nothing's gonna happen to you. Riddick and Dee are gonna us off this rock and somewhere we can be happy. Where we won't have to run for our lives from anything, or any _one_."

Faith chewed on her lower lip and gave a nod before leaning into Fisher and he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to her hairline in a comforting kiss. He shifted to rest his cheek on her head as she snuggled closer, but he gave a frown when he noticed something in the distance of the horizon they were looking toward. Faith looked up at him with a frown of wonder when he lifted his head, still looking toward the horizon, making her follow his gaze.

"What is that?" she wondered, just as Deirdra stepped up on the other side of Fisher, noticing the same thing. The sky was beginning to darken as a huge cloud rolled toward their direction…and closing in fast.

"Sand storm," Deirdra realized, grabbing onto Fisher's arm to drag him back toward their hiding places, Fisher grasping Faith's hand in a death grip. Deirdra shoved the two of them into one of the holes, shouting, "Get down and stay in there!"

"What about you?!" Faith called, poking her head out of the hole.

"Don't worry about me!" Deirdra snapped, shoving Faith back by the shoulder and into Fisher's arms before she scrambled toward one of the ends of the broken slab and began pushing it over the hole.

"Deirdra! Wait!" Fisher shouted, shoving himself out to look at her, making her stop and stare at him in rage.

"Stupid! What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped, glancing back at the ever nearing storm that was nearly upon them now. She scrambled over the slab to head toward him, and he grabbed her arm, desperately meeting her gaze. "Get in the hole!"

"Not without you!" he insisted, his grip on her arm tightening.

Deirdra growled in anger, looking over her shoulder at the storm before looking back to Fisher and sighing, "Sorry, Fish, but I hafta go Riddick on ya."

With her free arm she wound up and landed a punch to his face, making Faith shout in fright as he fell back, unconscious, into the hole.

"Take care of him," Deirdra told her before moving back toward the edge of the slab to shove it over them.

Just as she sealed the slabs together, a gust of wind shoved her forward so hard that she tumbled over the stone and slammed into one of the pillars, her head slamming into the stone so hard that her world went dark.

* * *

 _Night..._

Riddick trudged back toward the building where he'd left Deirdra, Fisher and Faith, their weapons in his hands and belt, having found them in the wreckage. He'd stopped to fill the only canteen he found that wasn't obliterated in the crash and made his way back to the waterfall they'd found to fill it with fresh water. He then found a place to hide out during the storm until it died enough to allow him to make his way back. He stopped at the entrance and surveyed his surroundings with his glowing silver pools of eyes, enjoying the fact that what passed for a moon was a smoldering red star hanging in the dark sky.

He frowned when he heard the sound of muffled pounding on stone, and equally muffled shouting, making him turn and look to the stone slab where the sounds were coming from. He marched toward the slab and shoved it aside to find Fisher had been the one shouting and pounding on the underside of it, while Faith was huddled in a corner, sobbing.

Now both stared up at him in shock before Fisher scrambled out of the hole, demanding, "Where's Deirdra?!"

"How the shit should _I_ know?!" Riddick shot back. "I just got back here! What the hell happened and who the hell gave you that shiner?!"

Instead of answering him, Fisher began looking around the building as Faith struggled to pull herself out of the hole.

"Deirdra shoved us in here to protect us from the storm, but we don't know what she did after that," she explained as Riddick gripped her hand to pull her out of the hole.

"She's not here!" Fisher shouted, looking over the other hole before racing around the area. "I can't find her! Riddick—!"

Fisher was cut off when Riddick shoved what he was carrying into Fisher's hands then pushed past him and toward the other exit of the in a determined march. Fisher and Faith frowned at him as they watched him before Fisher raced after Riddick who was kneeling in the sand and lifting a figure from the ground.

"Dee?!" Fisher called tossing the weapons on the floor and racing to meet Riddick halfway, seeing Deirdra hanging limp in Riddick's arms as he carried her back. Fisher tried to look her over, but Riddick pulled her out of his reach with a growl, making him frown at the man, who only kept marching to set Deirdra on one of the slabs and lean his ear next to her mouth to check on her breathing. "Is she…breathing?"

Riddick didn't answer as Faith stepped up next to Fisher, both teens staring at the scene in panic. Riddick felt her pulse on her throat, having not felt her breath fan his face, but he could feel her pulse fluttering, barely keeping her alive. He tilted her head back, plugged her nose and breathed into her mouth several times before she finally coughed up a throatful of wet sand from her saliva then turned over and took in a deep breath before hurling up her guts as well.

"Deirdra!" Faith gasped, racing to help her as Riddick stood to step back, and Fisher stepped on the other side of Deirdra as she took in a breath. Faith looked to Riddick and pleaded, "She needs water."

Riddick silently made his way toward the things Fisher had tossed away to grab the canteen and toss it to him again. Fisher caught it mid-air and quickly opened it to hand it to Faith, letting her give it to Deirdra. The red-head chugged before nearly choking herself, making her cough before she looked up at Riddick, who was only glaring at the three.

"Riddick—"

"Shoulda got in the hole with them, Girl," Riddick cut into Deirdra's call.

"Don't pretend like you wouldn't have done the same thing," she snapped.

"You ain't me!" Riddick snarled, making the teens jump and stare at him in disbelief, but Deirdra glared at him, not at all shocked or afraid. "How many times I gotta tell you?! Being Furyan doesn't mean you're _exactly_ like me! You know you were suffocating to death before I found you?!"

"And did you know _you_ were buried alive before _I_ found _you_?" she shot back, calmly before slowly standing with Faith's help, shoving the canteen into Fisher's chest. Her voice was still raw from the sand that had been down in her throat, and her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at him, adding, "I may not be as good as surviving as _you_ are…but I'm damn close."

"Alright, Dee, that's enough talking," Fisher advised, handing the canteen back to her. "You just puked up sand. Your throat needs time to heal."

"Fisher's right," Faith nodded, keeping her eyes on Deirdra before glancing at Riddick and adding, "I think we should all get some rest. Now that we have some weapons, Riddick and Fisher can go hunting tomorrow. Deirdra, you and I will stay here."

"Kid better not slow me down," Riddick snarled, climbing into one of the holes as Deirdra still glared at him before nodding to Faith and making her way toward Riddick.

"Guess we don't need to be closed in anymore, right?" Fisher called as he pulled his and Faith's knives from the pile of weapons between their sleeping places. "I'll wake up if I hear anything."

"Great," Riddick muttered as Deirdra settled next to him in the space, turning to lay on her side, her back facing him as he stared at the back of her head in the dark.

He gave a small frown when he noticed a spot on her head glowing a bit more than the rest of her in his silver gaze, but his frown soon fell when he realized what it was…blood. He sighed and shifted closer to her to slip an arm around her waist, making her frown in wonder, but she remained still.

"You hurt bad?" he muttered, making her frown disappear as she realized he'd seen the blood she could feel on the back of her head.

"Only the headache from slamming into a pillar then being thrown around by the wind and having sand shoved down my throat," she shot back. "If you're gonna apologize, don't bother. Just get some sleep so you're not in such a mood."

Riddick couldn't help but smirk, slightly before pulling her a little closer and pressing his mouth to the back of her head. Deirdra frowned before sighing when she felt something warm and wet run over her injury, slowly.

"You know how blood tastes, right?" he murmured.

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed again. "Like copper. It's why I carry peppermint snaps for you. Unfortunately, they fell out when we crashed, so I can't give you any."

"I don't need 'em…when I taste _your_ blood," he replied in that low tone she loved so much, making her give a shudder. "Yours is sweet enough."

"Twisted bastard," she sighed.

"Yeah, I've been called that," he replied.

* * *

 _The Next Day..._

Riddick and Fisher trudged through the sandstorm, both carrying their spoils from the hunt, Fisher grinning the entire time. He was sure he'd impressed Riddick before the storm hit when he bagged his first big beast, and now they were on their way back to the cave to show it off to Deirdra and Faith. He was sure Deirdra wouldn't think too much of it, but Faith would be _completely_ impressed.

Fisher suddenly bumped into Riddick's back when he stopped, something catching the older man's attention in the storm. He heard a small, pathetic whimper above the wind whistling through his ears, making him turn to what had caught Riddick's attention. Three puppies lay in the sand, two of them dead and one clinging to life. Riddick reached forward to lift the pup and hand it to Fisher, making the teen look at him with huge eyes under his goggles.

"Wrap it in your cloak!" Riddick ordered, yelling over the wind. "We're taking it!"

"What for?!" Fisher wondered, surprised that he would want to take any kind of animal with them, even if it was near death.

"Just do it!" Riddick shot back, and Fisher obeyed, silently.

The pup hardly squirmed as he held onto it, both men trudging against the wind again and before long, they reached the cave where Deirdra and Faith were waiting for them. Once they crossed the threshold of their old hiding place and into the cave attached to it, they set everything down and shook the sand off.

"Fisher!" Faith called, rushing toward him and throwing her arms around him just as he caught her with one arm. She frowned when she heard a small yelp under his cloak and pulled back enough to frown in the direction of the sound. "What was that?"

"We picked up a hitchhiker," Fisher smirked, releasing her and revealing the pup Riddick had handed over.

"A puppy!" Faith grinned, lifting her hands to pet it, but soon saw how weak it was. "Is it sick?"

"It's nearly dead," Riddick explained, unloading their catch. "And don't go treating it like a cute little pet. That thing is gonna be trained to protect us. Where the hell did the Girl go?"

"She went to get water before the storm started," Faith replied through a slight pout over his comment about the pup. "She's probably waiting it out."

"Or being stupid again," Riddick muttered, standing and pushing his goggles up onto his forehead.

"You could talk, Big Ugly."

The other three looked to the entrance of the cave to see Deirdra in a cloak of her own to protect her and the canteens she carried. She shook herself off and pulled the canteens out from under the cloak as she stepped in, then handed the canteens over the Faith.

"I found a couple more canteens in the wreckage," she explained, turning to Fisher to take the pup from him as Riddick began constructing a cage for him out of bones he'd collected on the way. "He needs water. Faith, hand me back one of those canteens."

"I'll start skinning the eels," Fisher offered, stepping toward of the bags to open it up and pull an eel out, slipping his knife from his boot.

Deirdra tried coaxing the pup to drink the water as Faith helped her, and the red-head couldn't help but glance between Riddick and Fisher as they both worked on their tasks. She looked back at the pup as he began to drink, slowly, and murmured, "Just another beautiful day in paradise."

* * *

 **A/N:** reviews?


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